The UW system of shared governance makes it a responsibility of faculty to share with the administration the day-to-day governance of the university. There are four institutions of faculty governance with different sets of responsibilities:

Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate is the legislative arm of the faculty. It consists of 122 elected senators and is guided by the chair of the Faculty Senate and the Senate Executive Committee (SEC). The Senate Committee on Planning and Budgeting (SCPB) consults with the SEC and the Faculty Senate on matters of policy pertaining to long-range planning, preparation of budgets, and distribution of funds and the faculty legislative representative (FLR) represents the faculty in all matters of legislation in the state affecting the university.

Secretary of the faculty

The secretary of the faculty oversees the Faculty Code, supports university faculty councils, and manages the Office of Faculty Senate and Governance.

University faculty councils

University faculty councils serve as deliberative and advisory bodies for all matters of university policy, and are primary forums for faculty and administrative interaction in determining that policy.

Schools, colleges & campuses

The elected faculty councils for UW schools, colleges and campuses bear the responsibility for advising their respective chancellors or deans on academic policy, including priorities, resource and salary allocation, and budgets. They also advise on promotion and tenure.